Yosuke♥Santa Maria
|birth_date = |birth_place = Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan |Death date= |Death place = |Resides = |Family = |otherFamily = |names = Super Shenlong (III) Yosuke♥Santa Maria Yosuke Watanabe |othernames = |height = |weight = |billed = |trainer = Dragon Gate Dojo |othertrainer = |debut = May 30, 2011 |retired = }} is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Dragon Gate professional wrestling promotion under the ring name . He is a former Open The Owarai and Open The Brave Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Dragon Gate Debut (2011–2013) Watanabe trained for his professional wrestling career in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate's wrestling school called "Dragon Gate Nex" and made his debut on January 26, 2011 at Dragon Gate Nex's Sanctuary.71 show in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, wrestling to a draw against his fellow trainee, and future stablemate, Eita Kobayashi. He later "graduated" to the main Dragon Gate shows as a low ranking rookie. On April 19, 2012, Watanabe would become the third incarnation of Super Shenlong, he would also form -akatsuki- along Chihiro Tominaga, Shingo Takagi and YAMATO. On May 6, -akatsuki- defeated Mad Blankey in an eight-man tag team match. Super Shenlong teamed up with Takagi and Yamato to participate in 2012's Summer Adventure Tag League with their only win going against Mad Blankey's Cyber Kong, Kzy and Mondai Ryu. On August 1 2013, -akatsuki- was forced to disband, after losing to Mad Blankey in a five-on-four tag team match. Also part of the stipulation, Super Shenlong was forced to unmask revealing his true identity. During the Summer Adventure Tag League, Naruki Doi turned on Masato Yoshino, meaning that Watanabe would fill Doi's spot in the tournament. Surprisingly, the team managed to defeat Don Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki. Millennials and Unifiliated (2014–2016) No longer wanting to hide his true feelings, Watanabe joined the Millennials and renamed himself Yosuke♥Santa Maria, stating that she now used feminine pronouns. In keeping with the Millennials lucha libre style, Santa Maria is an exótico, man who fights in drag, incorporating dancing, feminine costumes and outrageous moves such as Sky♥Love and Zona Rosa. On February 22, 2014, Santa Maria debuted for Dragon Gate USA losing to Caleb Konley, the following night she defeated Ethan Page. On March 1, Santa Maria had her first championship match against Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! for the Open The Brave Gate Championship, which she lost.http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=107894 On November 2, Santa Maria teamed with the unaffiliated "Mr. High Tension" Kotoka and Yuga Hayashi to defeat Don Fujii, Stalker Ichikawa, and Super Shisa, teasing their eventual joining. Four days later, the Millennials defeated Team Veteran Returns forcing them to disband, had the Millennials lost they would have been deported. On November 30, Santa Maria was pinned during a hair vs hair match. Santa Maria was forced into the chair for her haircut and despite her rampant protests, Fujii said that the rules were the rules and as such the show has to end with Maria having her head shaved. However, he had a change of heart after seeing how dejected Santa Maria was, and after offering to cut someone else's hair, decided to cut his own hair in an act he considered tanpatsushiki. Following Flamita vacating the Open the Brave Gate Championship, Santa Maria entered a tournament to crown a new winner but on January 1, 2015, she lost to Dr. Muscle in the first round. On February 4, Santa Maria defeated Jimmy Kanda and via fan support won the Open The Owarai Gate Championship, her first professional wrestling title. She lost the title to Akira Tozawa on March 29, 2015. On August 6, 2015, Millennials lost a three-way match and were as a result forced to disband. Despite this, Maria retained the gimmick. On March 5, 2016, Maria defeated Kotoka to win the Open The Brave Gate Championship. Tribe Vanguard (2016–2019) On May 28, Yosuke, along with BxB Hulk, YAMATO, and Kzy, formed a new unit named Tribe Vanguard. On June 19 VerserK attacked Yosuke Santa Maria and Lindaman made the save. On June 26 Lindaman claimed that he liked Maria and wanted to fight with and protect Maria. On July 24, Yosuke Santa Maria lost the Open The Brave Gate Championship to Eita at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival. In mid to late 2016, Santa Maria began teaming with El Lindaman, with the duo beginning a kayfabe romance angle after Lindaman confessed that he liked Santa Maria and wanted "to fight with and protect her", the duo was officially named the Marilyns. After a poor showing in the 2016 Summer Adventure Tag League where the Marilyns tied for the last place in their block with just two points, Tribe Vanguard leader YAMATO declared that Lindaman would not be allowed to join their unit and Santa Maria slapped Lindaman, officially breaking up the Marilyns. In March Maria was announced to take part in a tournament to crown the new Open The Brave Gate Champion but ended up being eliminated in the semifinals by Lindaman. She would then in May take part in the King of Gate, finishing the tournament with a record of one win and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. In 2018, Maria was just only used on the mid-card, sometimes had championship matches, but it was rare and the last time she got a championship match was on May 6 at Dead or Alive unsuccessfully challenging Dragon Kid for the Open The Brave Gate Championship. Following the Dead or Alive, Maria took part in the King of Gate, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On November 30, Maria suffered an injury during a match against Yasushi Kanda, a week later, it was revealed that Maria suffered an ankle injury and it would take two months of recovery. On March 16, Yosuke returned after 3 months, which later announced that she was returning to ring on April 10. On April 10, Maria made her return match with YAMATO, KAI and U-T against the returning Aagan Iisou (Shuji Kondo, "brother" YASSHI, Takuya Sugawara, Toru Owashi and Shogo Takagi) in a winning effort. In May, Maria took part in the 2019 King of Gate, finishing the tournament with a record of one win and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. In July, Maria and Kagetora took part in the AJPW's 2019 Jr. Tag Battle of Glory, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins, one loss, and one draw, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On July 28, Maria and Kagetora were defeated by Hikaru Sato and Yusuke Okada in the finals of the tournament. Dragon Gate Generation War (2019–Present) In December 2019, after Tribe Vanguard was temporarily suspended, Maria the Dragon Gate stable in order to unite all Dragon Gate generation of wrestlers against Toryumon and R.E.D in a "Generation War". Factions *-akatsuki- (2012–2013) *Millennials (2014–2015) *Tribe Vanguard (2016–2019) *Dragon Gate (2019–Present) Character and reception Watanabe's gimmick is that of an Exótico, or male wrestler performing in drag. In accordance with the gimmick, Watanabe has long, feminine like hair, and wears makeup and a skirt during matches. Watanabe is also exclusively referred to using feminine pronouns and considered a woman by the Dragon Gate roster. Since becoming Santa Maria in 2014, Watanabe's popularity has skyrocketed with fans, becoming one of the most popular acts in the company. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Neraiuchi'' (Crucifix driver) *'Signature moves' **''Sky Love'' (jumping leg lariat) **Spinning heel kick *'Nicknames' **'Maria-chan' **'Onee Master' *'Entrance music' **'"Santa Maria Walk"' by Tsutomu Toya ft. Yuri Komuro Championships and accomplishments *'Dragon Gate' **Open The Owarai Gate Championship (1 time) **Open The Brave Gate Championship (1 time) References Category:Wrestlers Category:Dragon Gate Dojo Category:Dragon Gate Roster Category:Millenials Category:-akatsuki- Category:Tribe Vanguard